BRISTOL is one of the best-placed cities in the country outside London and the South East to take full advantage of the economy's return to growth, according to new research.

The Cities in Recovery report, put together by property firm CBRE, looks at a number of factors that will affect 20 major regional UK cities, including educational levels, the growth of new businesses and the potential for economic growth following five years of recession.

The findings indicate that Bristol is one of the best educated cities in the UK and is fifth behind only major university locations such as Oxford, Cambridge and Edinburgh in terms of the number of people with a high level of academic qualifications.

This is significant because academic attainment is often seen as a key factor when it comes to economic growth and in terms of the number of new businesses launched each year.

The report also reveals that in 2011 Bristol was second only to Manchester in terms of the number of businesses launched. More than 600 firms were set up in the city in one year.

Philip Morton, pictured, head of office agency and development at CBRE Bristol, was pleased but not surprised by the findings.

He said: "It comes as no surprise that Bristol is one of the cities best set up to benefit most from the economic recovery.

"All the ingredients are in place and, perhaps most of all, Bristol is a city where people want to come to live and work. One of the biggest drivers of employment across the UK is professional services, and the report rightly highlights Bristol as a city with a large concentration of law firms and accountancy practices. As a result, we expect it to continue to benefit from the predicted growth in this sector.

"There is a long way to go, but it is encouraging to see we are one of the best-placed cities to take full advantage of the improving conditions."

The report also highlighted Bristol is one of the cities that would most benefit from newfound confidence in the financial services sector, an area hit badly by the recession.